3D TV a failure

The BBC is to stop making 3D programmes. Not a massive surprise.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23195479

Try again in 30 years or so.

Always said it would be. 3D is a gimmick, one I have refused to buy into.

We had a 3D TV bought for us as a present (I don't think it was any more or less than the original) but I agree with the comments that it's a faff.

Until glasses-less 3D TV is fully realised and, more importantly, cheap, 3D TV will always be a faffy gimmick. As a glasses wearer, I can't warm to the idea of being a speccy six eyes watching TV.

It's no surprise that 3DTV has been about as successful as the Betamax! I wonder how long Sky will persist with Sky 3D - they've got the content but I doubt it the live Premier League games come cheap, and although they say about 1.5m homes have it I doubt many of those actually use it. And surely if Sky thought it had any potential they'd be charging for it rather than throwing it in with the Sky World package.

What about the 3D screens at public houses?

I agree that 3D TV without 3D glasses would probably, especially if the picture and 3D was at least as good as with 3D glasses, be more successful. I think that is the future. Especially if it wasn't just multi view but more like hologram TV. Though I don't think current glasses-less 3D TVs give as good a 3D picture as those that use 3D glasses, from what I read.

The problem for me isn't the fact that one needs to wear glasses, it's more a case that the 3D effect, although sometimes impressive, doesn't add anything to the programme. It probably detracts from it if anything. It's a nice gimmick but I wouldn't watch something I was really interested in that way. I watched some tennis in 3D yesterday, 10 minutes was enough for me.

Looking back at the BBC's 2 year long 3D trial, it seems odd that we didn't get a 3D EastEnders, The One Show or even just a purpose made 3D programme with people poking sticks at the camera and things like that. I think Channels 4's 3D evening a couple of years ago was a more interesting use of the technology and it worked on an SD TV without special hardware being needed by the viewer too. It's probably about time a broadcaster does something like that again.

I just bought my mum a pair of 3D glasses as she was interested to see the final in 3D - they'd dropped in price by 30% just today, bloke down the shop said. Possibly related, possibly not - there's also been news recently that cinema 3D hasn't quite taken off as hoped.

I gave it a go on 2D->3D conversion, which I wasn't expecting much from, but it's nice to know it doesn't give me an instant headache this time around (I think the screen is 240Hz or something ridiculous like that).

Now all I have to do to turn on 3D is press Menu, Enter, Up, Up, Enter, Enter, Right, Right, Enter! Simple!

Glasses or glasses-free - the issue with the current system is that is based on stereoscopy - which presents you with a fixed 3D view from a single view-point (by feeding your eyes separate images). The glasses-free systems I've seen do this by using lenticular screens and only work when you sit in a relatively small number of sweet-spot positions.

The more exciting - and a long way-off - technology is the stuff that was demo-ed at IBC that allows you to sit anywhere, and move around to "look behind" stuff. That isn't stereoscopic though - so is incredibly difficult to actually capture (unless you are making an entirely CGI-generated movie)